» Houston Astros News

Before talking about my beloved Stros, I just want to point anyone interested in Fantasy Baseball to http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com. It’s a blog I write detailing drafts, add/drops, and trades, for the many leagues I play in this year. If  you are curious about some real life auction draft results? I’ve done 4. Interested in how some Yahoo trades shake out? I’ve got you covered there too, so check it out!

Now that I’m done pimping the blog, let’s talk about the Astros. Houston is an absurdly bad 1-11 in Spring Training this year. One and Eleven! That is beyond terrible!!

Most of the problem comes from pitching, as is usually the case, but I feel as though management made a HUGE mistake letting Ty Wiggington go to Baltimore. Wigginton was practically guaranteed to hit 20 homeruns, have an average in the high 70s or maybe even low 80s, and just bring better offense all around. Sure he wasn’t the best defensive player, but he could play a vairety of positions, which gives a manager some flexibility and increases Wigginton’s value to the team.

He signed a two year deal with Baltimore for only $6 million. I have to think Houston could have easily paid that and a little extra to keep his bat in the lineup for 2 more years.

Right now the offense  looks downright cold. Berkman and Lee are the biggest threats, and Pence is bound to have a better year thatn 2008, but probably not as good as his rookie year in 2007, and Tejada is just not the player the Astros thought they were getting a few years ago.

It looks like it is going to be hard to be a Houston fan this season, I’m preparing for the heartbreak and disappointment already. I sure hope I get proved wrong.

It’s no secret the Astros need a catcher for 2009. Sure, they have J.R. Towles and Humberto Quintero, but those guys are not great. Towles is young and was touted as having a big bat, and I was pretty excited going into last year that we had a good hitting catcher to replace Brad Ausmus. However, actually watching Towles play is a train wreck. He might have been called up too soon, but I just don’t see a productive year from him or Quintero offensively.

What the Stros really need is a veteran to sign to a one year deal while they wait for super prospect Jason Castro to blossom in the minors and make his way up in 2010. Enter Ivan Rodriguez: A one year deal with Pudge would be just what the Astros need! He was a great hitter last year, hitting nearly .300 (.295) in Detroit with 5 Home runs and 6 stolen bases, just the sort of player the Astros need to bring up the bottom of the order. He tanked after being traded to the Yankees, and I have no explanation why, but I think he still has the skills to help out a team.

The Astros have publicly said they do not wish to sign him, and it looks more and more like he will sign with the Marlins to back up John Baker,. I think the Astros are missing an opportunity to shore up a weak spot in the roster while waiting for their best prospect to develop.

Who knows, maybe Towles turns it around and becomes the hard hitting catcher Houston fans thought they were getting. I’d love to hear your comments on this.

Manager Cecil Cooper is leaning on putting Michael Bourne second in the lineup behind Kaz Matsui for opening day. This puts two speedsters at the top of the lineup, which can have both good and bad implications.

Michael Bourn is still not that great of a hitter, and his OBP is pretty terrible, so Berkman and Lee will likely have less opportunities to drive in runs. On the flipside, playing Bourne behind Matsui gives the Astros two players who can easily steal a base, giving Berkman or Lee an at bat with runners in scoring position.

Going into Spring Training, Cooper has expressed that Bourn would probably hit in the 7th or 8th spot, but Bourn is putting together a nice spring, which has prompted the lineup move.

I’m still skeptical. The front of any order, in my mind, needs to be two guys who have decent speed but can also hit or are good at taking walks. Kaz is a fine hitter, don’t get me wrong, and will bat close to .300 this year, perfect for a leadoff man. But I would feel more comfortable with Hunter Pence at 2 to kick start the offense.

The following Astros are participating in the WBC and their stats so far.

SS Chris Barnwell- Team Canada    No stats, but currently playing against Italy.
P T.J. Burton- Team Canada           No stats
P LaTroy Hawkins- Team USA      1.o IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
OF Carlos Lee- Team Panama        .250 avg with 1 BB, no other stats
P  Chia-Jen Lo- Team Chinese Taipei    No stats
P Roy Oswalt- Team USA               3.2 IP, 1 K, 2 BB, 7.36 ERA, 2.18 WHIP
SS Miguel Tejada- Team Dominican Republic  .500 avg and a solo homerun as his only RBI

Sort of a mixed bag right now. Oswalts numbers are frighteningly bad, but it is good to see Miggy still have some power. LaTroy Hawkins continues to dominate in middle relief, so that is exciting.

Quick injury update for the Astros.

Starting pitchers Wandy Rodriguez and Brandon Backe both have sustained strained muscles during spring training. Backe had a strained muscle a few years ago, and it took about a month to heal. Wandy’s injury was earlier this Spring, so he should be ready to go when the season starts. If Backe is out, I think Fernando Nieve gets his spot.

Nieve had a horrendous 2008, going 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA and ridiculously high 1.78 WHIP through 11 innings. He didn’t pitch in 07, but his 2006 numbers are not much better. Through 40 games as a relief man, he pitched 96 innings, posted an ERA of 4.20,  a respectable WHIP of 1.33, and 70 strikeouts.

The future of the an already shaky rotation looks bad.

My name is Geoff and I get the extreme pleasure of bring you news, stories, games, etc. about the Houston Astros! I play a ton of fantasy baseball, so I apologize in advance if some of my writings tend to lean toward that.

Before the season begins I’ll be discussing individual players’ strengths and weaknesses, and how those shape up the strength and weaknesses of the Houston Astros’ roster. I also highlight performances during Spring Training and  give my two cents on how the team is shaping up.

During the season I’ll try to post about trade rumors, or at the least, who I think the Astros could pick up off the market come the trade deadline, as well as game recaps and any injury reports or prospects in the organization getting their crack at the big leagues.. Living in Houston, I’m going to try to make it to some games this year, and blog about those experiences.

We’ll get to player and position analysis in a later post, today there was a game against Team Venezuela in preparation for the World Baseball Classic:

The game ended in a 4-4 tie. 2B Kaz Matsui went 1 for 2 with an RBI triple, and also scored on am RBI single from back up LF Brian Boguesevic, who also hit .500 in the game. He is currently not listed on the team’s depth chart. Backup OF Reggie Abercrombie went 1 for 3 with an RBI and Tommy Manzella, playing SS in the game but not listed on the depth chart, drove in one run as well.  Abercrombie and speedster Michael Bourn and Boguesevic all picked up a stolen base during the game. Lance Berkman, aka Big Puma, and Hunter Pence were both hitless.

Miguel Cabrera, of the Tigers, drove in two runs for Venezuela with a 1 for 4 performance.  Jose Lopez, from the Mariners, also went 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs.

The surprise performance came from Astros pitcher Jose Capella, who pitched 3 innings of shut out ball against a lineup with MLB greats such as Magglio Ordonez, Melvin Mora, Jose Lopez, and the monster Miguel Cabrera. Capella is currently not on the roster, but if he continues a strong spring  it would be hard not to give him a spot.

Up next the Astros take on Team Panama and teammate Carlos Lee, who is representing his native country in the WBC.

All in all, 2009 should be a fun season and I look forward to bringing you the Astros’ side of it.

Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada was charged Tuesday on lying to investigators on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, reports said.
The Washington Post had reported that the Astros shortsop allegedly made some misrepresentations to some congressional staffers in an interview in a Baltimore hotel room on the subject of steroids in baseball. reported.

Tejada will be expected to appear on Wednesday, 11 am ET in US District Court in Washington. Charges against him were outlined and were filed in Washington Federal Court last Tuesday; indicating that a plea agreement has been reached with Tejada, and is expected to plead guilty, according to an ESPN report. The Astros have scheduled a 4 p.m. CT news conference for Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.

The conference will be aired live on MLB.com and will be attended by Tejada, his lawyer, Mark Tuohey; and agent Diego Bentz.
Tejada was accused by prosecutors of giving false statements in a conversation with former Athletics teammate Adam Pitt about steroids and human growth hormones. No other accusations were made.

Tejada can face a maximum penalty of one year in jail, but advisory sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of probation to six months behind bars, according to the Post report

The charges against Tejada came a little over a year after the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into whether Tejada really told false statements to members of the same committee in 2005 about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The allegations go back to 2005 when Tejada’s former temmate Rafael Palmeiro, tested positive in a steroid test on a vitamin B-12 injection allegedly given to him by Tejada.

Palmeiro gave the testimony while under investigation by the House Committee for possibly lying on the usage of performance-enhancing drugs.
Charges against Palmeiro was dropped since the Committee has no concrete evidence, although Tejada admitted during the investigation that he provided Palmiero and two other undisclosed Orioles players with B-12, also known as a steroid .

Tejada denied the use of performance enhancing drugs August of the same year, stating that he is not aware of the substance use by other players.
But the Mitchell Report released last December 2007 suggested something different. Former Sen. George Mitchell said that Tejada’s teammate Piatt, remembered that the he provided Tejada with steroids, testosterone and HGH in 2003.

Piatt gave Mitchell cancelled checks from his transactions with Tejada which amounted to $6,300. One $3,200 check coming from Tejada to Piatt was dated March 21, 2003.